


reunited

by fabricdragon



Series: The Clown and the King [4]
Category: Watchmen (2009), Watchmen - All Media Types
Genre: BDSM, Break Up, Homophobic Language, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Kidnapping, Lies and secrets, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Secret Identity, Secret Relationship, for effect, role play
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-29
Updated: 2017-01-05
Packaged: 2018-09-13 01:59:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9101335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fabricdragon/pseuds/fabricdragon
Summary: A villain, who clearly has a death wish, is trying to kidnap the Minutemen.  He kidnapped Adrian and his "boyfriend" Dan Drieberg.  How many others will this kook manage to kidnap, and how will they get out?and will Dan  die of shock.NOT good relationships.  seriously, but gentler than prior stories.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Bluemary](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluemary/gifts).



Adrian hated coming to this part of town.  He knew Daniel only lived here because it was close to the warehouses he needed, and no one expected a man with his money to live here, but it always felt grimy.

He parked the rental car and knocked on the door.  The familiar hesitant tread and scuff of Daniel’s shoes, the shy ducked head when he let him in. _God, it was so annoying.  The man was a genius, at least compared to most people, and he had so little confidence_.  Adrian always wanted to shake him, but shaking him wouldn’t get the engineering genius to agree to work for him.

“Hello, Daniel,” Adrian smiled at him warmly.  _Here we go again_.  Money wouldn’t move him: he’d inherited enough and his living expenses‑obviously‑ were minimal. He’d tried appealing to everything else, and so far the furthest he’d gotten was by actually romancing him‑going slowly to avoid scaring him off. At least Daniel didn’t look at him with that awestruck hero worship so many others did: he was just actually shy‑ out of costume.

“Adrian,” Dan smiled, and ducked his head, and asked him if he would like any tea.

They sat and talked, and Adrian kept the topic away from Archie for now.

Daniel kept taking off his glasses and polishing them, which he did when he was nervous or uncertain,  so Adrian reached out and put a hand on his cheek.  “Daniel?”  He leaned forward and kissed him, gently‑feeling Daniel hold back, then give in.

And the Universe must have had it in for him, because at that point a grenade came flying through Daniel’s window and gas filled the room.

They both tried to get to cover.  Adrian made it into the next room, before the floor spun crazily and he want down.

*  
Adrian came to first, probably because he’d gotten further away.  They were both lying on a rubberized floor, in a surprisingly secure containment: solid walls on two sides, barred walls on the other two. All the cameras on the wrong side of the bars…

When Dan woke up, Adrian leaned down next to him and said, “We’ve been captured, stay quiet.”

They waited.  They didn’t wait long.

Whatever Adrian was expecting, this wasn’t it: a man with his hair  standing almost straight up, in some kind of outlandish mad scientist costume strode in, followed by the usual goons.

“Ozymandias,” he smirked.

“Adrian Veidt,” Adrian said politely. “I retired.”

“Yes!” he snarled. “And that’s the problem!” He began pacing back and forth in front of the cage. “Soon, though, soon!”

“Soon what?” Dan asked him, sounding wary. Adrian elbowed him.

“Ah, Mr. Drieberg… My apologies, but a hostage was just too good an opportunity to pass up.”

“What?”

“I see,” Adrian nodded. _So they didn’t know who Daniel was? That was lucky_. “I behave or my… boyfriend gets hurt.”  He nodded, putting a sad expression on his face, “I’m sorry Daniel. This is why I tried to keep you a secret.”

Daniel, who was not stupid, put his arms around Adrian. “I guess I just didn’t believe you.”

Mad science loon went OFF on his monologue.  The short form appeared to be that he wanted the Minutemen reunited in order to prove something.  It was all Daniel could do not to burst out laughing.

Adrian rather gently said, “I’m retired, and I don’t think any of the rest of them are coming out of retirement anyway.”

“You’ll see! You’re just the first!” And he stalked out.

They just looked at each other for a few minutes.  Then Dan buried his face in Adrian’s chest to try to muffle the laughs. Adrian was biting his lip and looking down.    After a few minutes Dan managed to stop.

“I think they think you’re crying,” Adrian whispered softly into his hair.

“I was counting on it,” Danial mouthed into Adrian’s neck. “In all honesty, though, the security is low tech enough to be a problem: it’s going to be hard to break.”

Adrian shrugged, “We wait.  Eventually we get an opening.  I go off grid often enough that my people won’t start looking for a day more at least, but then they will.”

Daniel sat back and nodded and said more normally, “I’m sorry, I’ve never been kidnapped before.”

Adrian barely stifled the grin as he thought about the last time he was kidnapped‑by Eddie. “Well, I have.  Most of the time it’s awful, but every now and then it’s alright.”  He helped Daniel up to his feet. “Come on, let’s go sit on the bed.”

Time crawled by. Adrian tried to pass the time in the obvious way, only to find out that the extremely shy Daniel drew the line firmly at anything past kissing while being recorded.  _Damn._

Probably twelve hours later, they were herded to the back of the cell by some very agitated guards. They looked angry and most of them had fingers on triggers a bit too much for Adrian or Daniel’s liking, so they moved back.

The guards dumped a sack of person into the cell.

A large sack.

It was the Comedian. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> plans exchanged and acted on

Daniel tried to come up with something to say, but all that came out was, “Well, that’s not good.”

Adrian went over and checked his pulse.  He looked a lot the worse for wear.  A lot.

“I’m assuming they ran out of sedative grenades?” Adrian said thoughtfully.

“IS he alright?” Daniel remembered he was supposed to be a civilian. “And that really IS the Comedian?”

“Yes, yes it is, and I think he will be.”

They made him a bit more comfortable on the floor, and Adrian put a rolled up sheet from the beds behind his neck.

And they waited.

Eventually he woke up.  He peered blearily at Adrian and said something that made no sense at all to Dan, “What is this? Payback, Veidt?”

“Don’t be silly, Eddie; you never would have woken up.  I was kidnapped along with my boyfriend.  Dan Dreiberg, Eddie Blake‑The Comedian.”

Dan hadn’t been certain that Eddie would catch on but he followed through without missing a beat, “I was right, you are a fag.”

Adrian frowned, “That’s insanely rude, Eddie.”

“Uh, hi? I’m Dan‑“

Eddie looked him up and down, and DAMN he looked like he never saw Dan before in his life. “You aren’t what I’d expect.  How the fuck did you ever meet the Purple Pansy?”

Dan stuttered, but Adrian said casually, “I rescued him, back in my costumed days.  We kept in touch.”

Eddie shrugged. “Someone kidnapped me right out of the dog and pony show I was doing‑ the OFFICIAL dog and pony show.  Took out a bunch of the guards, too.  My boss is gonna be pissed.”

“How not good is that?” Adrian was asking, looking somewhat alarmed, when the mad scientist came back in.

“While I am impressed that you managed to take down some of my minions, you will still end up‑“

“Whatever, fruitcake,” Eddie growled at him.  “What do you expect to come out of this?”

“I will reveal all when ALL of the Minutemen are in my clutches!”

Eddie looked at Adrian and Dan. “Oh, we got a LIVE one here.”

“Yes,” Adrian sighed. “Entirely delusional.”

“Tell me how to find‑“ he started.

Adrian cut him off, “None of us know how to find Rorschach, so we can’t help you with that, but if you just go out and be loudly criminal on the street I assume he’ll find you.”

“Silk Spectre‑“ the villain began.

Eddie startled the other two by snarling, “I’ll rip your balls clean off.”

Adrian continued smoothly, “The former Silk Spectre lives in a heavily guarded government compound‑ with Doctor Manhattan.  I haven’t seen or heard from her in years, except for one appearance at a charity event.  I can’t help you there, either… and before you ask, Night Owl moved to Canada years ago; all I know is that he lives in Toronto.” Adrian shrugged and looked obligingly helpless.

The villain stared at them for a while, looking more and more upset. “You WILL be gotten back together! You WILL face my designs!!!” And he stalked out.

Eddie groaned and slid down the wall, “Fuck my life.”

“Mine’s not doing much better, Eddie,” Adrian said drily.

Dan was beginning to wonder what he was missing.  “Not that I have all the super heroic stuff to compare it to, but mine isn’t doing very well either.” Dan tried to sound small and scared, and it didn’t take much.

Adrian wrapped an arm around him.  Dan saw Eddie look… amused.  _That was odd._   Adrian kissed him and whispered in his ear, “Play along, I have to talk to Eddie.”

“We have a more immediate problem than your libido, Veidt,” Eddie said. _And… again, there was the eerie amusement._

“Oh?”

“I was taken from an official function.  If they don’t think a rescue mission is worth it, they’ll hit the place with enough firepower to level it.”

“WHAT?!” Dan didn’t have to fake that.

He noticed Adrian moving his hands, using Daniel to block the cameras. “You can’t be serious?” Adrian didn’t sound that doubtful.

Blake was also making subtle motions with his hands, shielded between his legs as he sat against the wall. “Depends on how long it takes to find me, and what the situation looks like.  But generally? They count on agents holding out for 24 hours minimum; I figure they’ll give me 48.”

They were looking at each other grimly.

Adrian turned and pushed Daniel back into the bed. “We’ll get out of here, don’t worry Daniel.” He kissed him. “Don’t give anything away, we’re trying something,” he whispered in his ear.

Eddie uncoiled himself to his full height. “You know… anything that happens to you is going to get blamed on the late night movie reject.”

“What?” Adrian said. “Eddie…” His voice sounded suspicious, and dangerous.

“You’re fast, Princess, but there’s no place to run in here.”

“Eddie… Your superiors would be very‑“

“My superiors never have to find out anything.” Eddie smiled nastily. “That’s the beauty of this setup.” He walked over and grabbed Adrian by the arm. “So why not put that pretty mouth to better use?”

Dan barely had time to register what they were saying before there was a fight.  Adrian was fast, blindingly fast, but his shots seemed to have no effect beyond the occasional grunt. Eddie meanwhile connected only rarely, but when he did, Adrian went down, and got up slower every time.

Dan tried to see them faking it, but they weren’t.  _They did seem to be holding back, but… those shots were landing._

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”  He figured even a civilian would intervene.  He tried to grab Eddie’s arm. “Leave him al‑“

He got THROWN into the bed and landed with all the air knocked out of him. “And STAY there!” Eddie snarled at him.

Dan blinked as spots danced in front of his eyes.  He’d been thrown onto the mattress, he wasn’t damaged, but he’d had the wind knocked out of him.

He heard a shriek and turned his head to see Adrian with one arm pulled up FAR too high behind his back. This wasn’t playing by any means.

“I always love hearing you scream, Veidt.”

“Fuck you,” Adrian spat.

Dan almost went into shock at the language. _Adrian never cursed._

“Oh, no, Princess. Fuck you.” And Eddie ripped his pants down.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> poor Dan.   
> (Yes they are acting, but yes it has to be very real)


	3. Chapter 3

Eddie was forcing Adrian to the ground, and…

_No, no he couldn’t possibly…_

Dan suddenly remembered what Hollis had written: _the Comedian had RAPED Sally Jupiter, in the Minuteman clubhouse_. He tried to believe this was faked, but Adrian looked like his shoulder was dislocated, and Eddie had torn the man’s pants off…

“Have you gone INSANE?” Dan launched himself at the Comedian.  He managed to connect a bit, owing to Adrian keeping his attention, but then Eddie PUNCHED Adrian in the back of the head, and he went down.

Then he turned on Dan, “You fucking queer piece of shit.”  He looked demented.  Dan found himself taken down and tied up with a sheet.  He was dazed, but…

When his head cleared he realized he wasn’t HURT, just… rattled.  He tested the knots; they were just a tiny bit loose.

_This was an act?  But…_

Eddie pulled Adrian up and sneered at him, “You’ve gone soft on me, Veidt.”

“You’re a monster, Eddie.”

“The same monster from last time,” Eddie agreed, twisting him around and forcing him to his knees.

Adrian looked over at Dan. “Don’t‑“

Eddie growled, “Shut up, or I do the fat boy first and make you watch.”

Dan was frozen in horror as he watched the Comedian rape Ozymandias.  _It couldn’t be real, this had to be faked, but it didn’t look fake at all._

“Maybe I should make you beg, Veidt.”

“Like hell.”

Eddie reached around and grabbed Adrian by the balls; Adrian suddenly held very still. “You might want to rethink that, Princess.”

“Not going to make me use my mouth for ‘something better’?” Adrian snarled at him.

“And give you a chance to bite me? How stupid do I look?”

“You know what I think of you, Blake.”

“Yeah, and I know you love it,” Eddie spat into his hand and forced a finger into him; Adrian made a strangled cry and tried to pull away.

Dan started working out of the knots in earnest.  Eddie looked his way and snarled, “Tell your boyfriend to stay out of it, Veidt, or I get nastier.”

“Daniel…” Adrian gasped. “For God’s sake, don’t give him an excuse‑ you don’t know him.”

Dan tried to process what he was hearing‑both of them telling him to continue playing the civilian‑ but  at the same time he could SEE bruises forming on Adrian’s pale skin‑ they were harder to see on Eddie‑ and… Eddie had his finger‑two fingers now‑ in Adrian and was twisting his arm behind his back at what had to be a painful angle….

Dan cowered back, trying to make sense of it.

Eddie pulled himself out of his own pants and started working himself hard.  Dan tried to look anywhere else, and he wasn’t faking the panic.

“I’m going to kill you, Blake.”  There was pain in his voice when Adrian managed to get that out.

“We knew that before,” Eddie leaned forward and whispered something in Adrian’s ear in a low growl.

Adrian jerked his head back, slamming Eddie in the face. Eddie grabbed him by the hair and slammed him forward into the ground. Adrian went limp.  Dan gasped and couldn’t get another breath.

“Adrian? ADRIAN?!”

Eddie just laughed, and lined himself up against Adrian’s ass, “Well at least he’ll be all relaxed, now.”

The mad scientist burst in. Dan had never been so glad to see anyone in his life. He started begging for help, and he meant it. “He’s gone insane! Stop him, do something!”

Eddie dropped Adrian to the ground and stood up.  He was still hard and he stared at the guards with a flat, deadly look. “You know, I really hated you BEFORE you interrupted.”

“Get away from him!”  the mad scientist was screaming.

“Why? You planning on having your turn first?” Eddie lunged over and dragged Dan off the bed, holding him up as a shield. Dan panicked as he could feel Eddie’s cock shoved up against him. He struggled and realized _his hands were free of the sheet?_ Eddie was just holding them, with the other arm around his throat.

“Would you rather watch me take this one apart?” Eddie licked Dan’s ear. Dan was still shuddering when he heard Eddie whisper, “Fall down and wait.”

Eddie threw Dan into the guards.  Dan didn’t have to fake falling down, but Eddie’s throw took two of the guards down with him.

“You can’t‑“

Eddie reached down, grabbed Adrian, and held him up with his head lolled backward at an angle that looked broken. Then he threw him at the mad scientist with the words, “Have fun, he bites.”

Adrian turned the tumbling throw into a gymnastic move in mid-air, and landed on the villain like a tiger onto a lamb.

Dan took a blink to realize what he was seeing and grabbed one of the guard’s guns. The first one he shot was the one shooting at Eddie. 

Adrian took three of them down, Eddie two‑unless you count using Adrian and Dan as thrown weapons‑ and Dan wasn’t sure if he’d killed two of them, or just knocked them down for Eddie.

“Nice work‑MOVE.” Eddie and Adrian ran to the exit door, scooping guns off the floor as they went; Dan chased after them.  Some part of him was bothered by the fact that Adrian still didn’t have any pants on.

They ran together ahead of him and only once did they miss someone that Dan had to take down.  They moved like they worked together all the time. They didn’t stop until they reached a room full of equipment.

“Daniel? This is your department, I’m afraid.”  Adrian waved at the room.

“You’re not… are you hurt? That looked real…” Daniel tried not to stare at Adrian, holding a gun and looking entirely unconcerned at the bruises or the nudity.

Eddie laughed, but it sounded genuine and friendly. “Put some pants on, Adrian; you’re distracting your boyfriend. I’ll watch the door.”

“You’re a pig, Eddie,” Adrian said _and he sounded AFFECTIONATE_.

“I don’t‑“

“Daniel, we don’t have time.  We need the recordings destroyed, any fail-safes found, and WHATEVER weapons he wanted to demonstrate on us need to be deactivated.  If nothing else, we have to make sure we don’t get killed in an airstrike.”

Dan turned to the electronics and started to work.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Explanations   
> and flirting, so much flirting

Dan didn’t like to admit how close a call it was on deactivating some of this stuff.  He managed to turn a few of the system defenses on the remaining guards, at least.

Eddie called in, once the place was secured.

Adrian called his people.

“We’ll have my people pick me up before the government can get here,” Adrian said after he hung up.

“Yeah,” Eddie nodded, and looked over at Dan. “We need to get our stories worked out, including who was here.”

Dan’s eyes widened. “Oh, uh, yes, of course.  Can we keep me out of it?”

“We should be able to,” nodded Adrian, “assuming you destroyed all the recordings.”

Eddie grinned, “Well, there’s always more explosive methods.”

Adrian smiled over at him, “If it makes you happier.”

“You… you two were very convincing,” Dan said finally.

Eddie wrinkled his nose, “I didn’t think so.”

Adrian smiled up at him, “They don’t know you as well as I do, Eddie.”

Dan kept looking back and forth as a sort of sick feeling settled in his stomach. “You two… seem to know each other very well…”

Eddie raised an eyebrow at him, “I was assigned to guard him from terrorists; we had to go off-grid for a week or so.”

Adrian sighed faintly.

Dan felt sick.

Eddie did indeed plant explosives all over. Dan was convinced it was more for his own amusement than any other reason.

He tried talking to Adrian, but all Adrian would say was, “Nothing until we get back home, Dan.”

Dan had to admit that no one had said anything that identified him, or admitted… anything. So even if a recording survived…  _Yeah, better to wait._

Adrian’s people picked them up in a shiny new helicopter.

“Sweet!” Eddie said, once they were on board.

“It works,” Adrian nodded.

Adrian draped himself into a seat and dropped off to sleep. Eddie did the same across two seats. Dan stared at them in disbelief until they got to Veidt’s tower.

Adrian dismissed the staff and shut the door.

“Alright, we’re clear,” he nodded. “Ugh, I stink.”

“For you? Yeah, you do.” Eddie nodded. “Can we call enough of a truce to get cleaned up, Veidt?” Eddie was moving into Adrian’s personal space.

Adrian smirked. “I wasn’t aware we were at war, Eddie,” he said looking up at him with a challenging look.

Dan got in between them and shoved them apart. “If you don’t tell me what the HELL is going on, I will program your toaster ovens to kill you!”

Eddie blinked at him and looked dubious. “I don’t own a toaster oven.”

“I’ll buy you one.  I’ll have Rorschach buy you one and smuggle it into your apartment,” Dan growled.

“I stink, and I ache everywhere,” Adrian sighed. “Can we get a shower and have the debrief in the Jacuzzi?”

“I knew I liked you for some reason, Adrian,” Eddie grinned. “Lead on.”

“Uh, shower? Jacuzzi? In case you haven’t noticed, I didn’t pack‑“

“Grow up, Dreiberg,” Eddie growled.

“I thought you hated gay people?”

“I hate everybody,” Eddie shrugged.

Adrian walked them into a shower big enough to hold  the entire team.  Dan almost choked as Adrian and Eddie both stripped down and got in the showers.

“I know you were never military, Dreiberg, but you DO remember going to the gym, don’t you?” Eddie laughed at him, as he lathered soap all over himself.

Dan swallowed hard, then got undressed and started cleaning up.  Eddie’s muscles and hair on one side of him; smooth, slender, pale Adrian on the other‑ Dan felt like a lump.

“Adrian…” Dan finally managed to say as he watched Adrian apparently making love to the hot water. “You have some really spectacular bruises.”

Eddie glanced over, “Yeah, I made sure to hit him where I knew he bruised. We wanted a good show.” He smirked at Adrian. “I missed a few spots.”

“Eddie, if you interrupt my shower, so help me...”

“I could dirty you back up, then you’d have an excuse to shower some more.”

“ARGH!” Dan threw the washcloth at Adrian and the soap at Eddie.

“What? You want in?” Eddie  smirked.

“Leave him alone, Eddie; he’s actually a nice guy.”

“Yeah, I figured.”  Eddie suddenly shot Adrian a look and started laughing. “Oh SHIT!” he grinned evilly at him. “You LIKE him.”

Adrian pulled himself up and somehow managed to look dignified, even soaking wet and buck naked. “It’s none of your business, Eddie.”

Dan had the disconcerting picture of Eddie singing, “Adrian and Daniel sitting in a tree.”

“Why would that surprise you? And I still want answers,” Dan said firmly.

Adrian walked them over to the biggest Jacuzzi Dan had ever seen.  He got in and smiled up at Dan, “Now I’ve been trying to get you to come visit me here for months. It takes being kidnapped?”

“If it’s any consolation, he never asked me to come up,” Eddie  said.

“It would have been rude, Eddie; after all, I’m going to kill you.”

Eddie smirked, “But not tonight, Princess, I know what your libido is like.”

“Never mind that, Eddie, you’re my guests;  it would be poor manners.”

“Explanations. Now,” Dan said firmly.

Adrian sighed, “Can you narrow it down?”

“It REALLY looked like Eddie was raping you.”

Eddie snorted, “It was supposed to. We had to change plans at the last minute, my mouth was too dry to get enough spit.”

Dan stared at him, and then stared at both of them. “Wait, you were going to…?”

Adrian looked at him tiredly, without any flirtation, and suddenly it was Ozymandias: Smartest Man in the Room. “We had limited time, Daniel.  Between Eddie’s employers possibly sending a kill team, and that IDIOT getting himself incinerated by Doctor Manhattan, or broken by Rorschach? What would have happened to us?”

“Oh, shit.  I hadn’t thought about the problems if HE got killed.”

Eddie nodded, “Likeliest option is someone kills him, and the guards just run. We stay stuck in the cell until we starve, get rescued, or they drop a bomb on us.”

Adrian shrugged, “Eddie very kindly suggested we change plans to ‘Apparently unconscious, possibly dead’.”  He blinked over at Eddie and nodded regally, “Very kind of you, Eddie.”

Eddie smirked, “I’m considerate that way.” And then, in a more serious tone, “Dry?  You would have torn something, Adrian.  I haven’t done you any permanent harm yet.”

Adrian shot him a smoldering look from under his eyelashes, “Except for one thing.”

Eddie shot him an evil grin.

“Can you two stop flirting for long enough to explain ANY of this? Especially since I THOUGHT we were… going somewhere?”

Eddie shot him a look that was hard to read, “You’re waaay too good for him, Dreiberg.”

 


	5. Chapter 5

Of all the things Dan expected to hear, that wasn’t it.

“I’m… too good… for ADRIAN?” Dan was wondering if this was a really weird hallucination.

Adrian bit his lip. “True,” he sighed. “You are, really.”

Eddie frowned at him, “Seriously, Dreiberg, you can do better. He’ll break your heart.” Eddie paused. “And you still have one.”

“Who are you, and what have you done with Eddie Blake?” Dan asked him in a daze.

“Seriously, Dan, find someone nice,” Eddie grumbled.

“I wish I could argue,” sighed Adrian, “but you deserve better.” He glanced at him in a way that made Dan go weak in the knees. “I hope you’ll stay, though.”

Dan took a VERY deep breath. “You two have been together for how long?”

They glanced at each other.

Adrian murmured, “Three years? Time flies.”

“Nearly that,” Eddie nodded. “But we aren’t together, Dan.”

“You SOUND like you are.”

Eddie shrugged and sank further into the Jacuzzi. “We had an intense, one-time hookup almost three years ago.  We never planned on seeing each other again. Then I got assigned to guard him at one of his charity events‑the one with the terrorist attack? And we had to go off grid together for over a week.” He looked thoughtful. “Two years ago. Roughly.”

Adrian looked down, “We only saw each other in person once since then; other than that, it’s letters every now and then.”

Dan looked back and forth. “But you know where Adrian bruises easily, and you can fake a rape scene like that.”

Eddie smirked, “Never knew you were that quick.”

“Sadly, I did,” Adrian sighed. “Not that you’re helping matters.” He glared at Eddie.

“Oh? And you aren’t asking for it?”

“Right. I’m out,” Dan said, standing up and getting out of the Jacuzzi.

“Please don’t,” Adrian winced.  “If nothing else, we really have to go over the story.”

Dan sighed, “I take it you normally sub?”

“Ah, no… not usually.” Adrian glanced at Eddie. “It doesn’t normally work.”

Eddie shrugged, “That’s why we got together. He wanted to sub with someone who wouldn’t put him up on a shiny pedestal or treat him like glass.”

Dan nodded slowly, “Ok, I can sort of see that.”

“You can?” Adrian blinked a lot.

“I don’t know how well I can cope with it in my personal life, but yeah, I can see how being treated like that would get old.

“But I get the impression that the acting job got both of you pretty worked up.”

“Fuck yeah,” Eddie said grinning.

“Ah... well, yes, a bit.”

Dan nodded. “I’m still having trouble coping with what I saw, and what I keep hearing.  Some time alone would be a good thing.”

Adrian looked sad, but understanding. “I have a guest apartment.  Can you sleep there for the night? We can work out the story in the morning.”

Dan nodded.

“And I’m sorry, Dan.  It really was the only way out we could come up with.”

“I couldn’t come up with anything better,” Dan admitted. “It doesn’t mean I like it.”

Adrian gave him a bathrobe and escorted him next door.

He came back in looking pensive.

“The walls soundproofed?” Eddie asked.

“Yes.”

“That’s good. I think he might faint.”

“Damn it, this has ruined months of work.”

Eddie raised an eyebrow, “You actually do like him, though; I can tell.” He looked thoughtful, “What work?” Eddie poured Adrian a glass of something.

“Trying to get him to come work for me. I’ve offered him his own research lab- he doesn’t care.”

“Why do… Oh, the ship.”

“He BUILT that. Do you have any idea‑“ Adrian cut off  as Eddie took advantage of handing him the drink, and  his distraction, to get his hand locked on his wrist.

“You can kill me later, Adrian.” Eddie pulled him in hard and kissed him.  Adrian struggled for a moment out of surprise at being KISSED, and then let him.

Every time Adrian thought he understood the man, Eddie surprised him.  Eddie was a shockingly good kisser.

“You never kissed me before.” Adrian stared up at Eddie. “Not really.”

“You object?”

“No… it’s… unexpected.”

Eddie looked at him. “Don’t fight me, for once.”

Adrian considered. “For once, Eddie.”

Adrian took him into the bedroom. “Truthfully, thank you for coming up with an alternative‑“

“Enough talking, Adrian, I just want to hear you beg.”

Adrian looked up at him from under those lashes, “I thought I wasn’t fighting you, this time.”

“You’ll still beg,” Eddie smirked, “and scream.”

Adrian handed him the lube and looked curiously up at him. “I doubt it.”

Eddie pulled him down on the bed and put his hands over his head, holding them there with one hand. “You don’t know me as well as you think you do.” And Eddie kissed him.  Eddie had sex with his tongue and his mouth, and used his weight to hold Adrian down into the bed, hands pinned overhead. 

Adrian had no leverage at all, he realized ‑the soft bed and heavy body making a perfect cage‑ and struggled momentarily.

Eddie just growled “Adrian” into his mouth and started working his way down Adrian’s chin, and to his neck. _And God damn Eddie remembered every spot on his neck that sent fire racing down his nerves._

Eddie bit and sucked his way down Adrian’s neck slowly‑not gentle at all, but far from painful. Adrian hardly noticed when he released his hands, holding his shoulders down, the soft bed trapping him under Eddie’s weight.

Eddie went back to kissing him, and Adrian’s hands came up and gripped into his hair.

It was far from gentle, but it was slow, achingly slow, as Eddie ran his hands down Adrian’s body, pushing into spots that hurt, and spots that didn’t, and controlling him utterly.  Adrian had a moment’s thought of getting out from under him, but… he didn’t need to, and this was such a novel thing, to have something like affection, or gentleness, from Eddie.

From someone who didn’t think he was perfect, or an angel, or even smart enough to get away.

Eddie had paid attention, though.  He knew that while Adrian’s nipples were good, other spots on his chest were just as good- or better. He remembered that Adrian was sensitive over his hipbones, and Eddie kissed bruises there, hands rubbing and pulling along Adrian’s back‑ soothing and painful all at once, as they worked past the bruises from earlier.

Adrian heard himself whimpering, and gasping, and could scarcely believe that was himself.  Eddie’s tongue found the brand.  Adrian arched off the bed shutting his jaw against the moan‑it escaped anyway.

Eddie laughed into Adrian’s stomach and murmured, “Did you miss me? I dream about you.”

“Yes… yes… but…never” _like this_ , he meant to say, when Adrian’s mind stopped in shock as Eddie went down on him.

Eddie wasn’t gentle‑Adrian didn’t need gentle‑ but he was sucking and licking and using his teeth and it wasn’t sweet, but it was GOOD, and Eddie  took him  apart just to prove that he could. Adrian came, screaming.

His mind returned slowly to find that he was face down, over a pillow, with Eddie mouthing and biting at the back of his neck.  Adrian arched his neck up into the bites.

“I thought you’d beg before you screamed,” Eddie growled into his shoulder as he bit down, just hard enough to feel, but not hard enough to wound.

Adrian was going to say something when a finger slipped inside him.

 _God damn Eddie to hell._ He knew Adrian inside and out, and even still on overload from the orgasm it felt so good.

Eddie bit his way down Adrian’s spine, working his fingers in, stretching him patiently.

“You haven’t…” _been seeing anyone_?  Eddie was asking.

“No… no… God, Eddie.”

“Yours, maybe.” Eddie growled into the small of his back, and then Adrian stopped thinking as Eddie used his tongue.

Adrian would only remember that he’d begged, but not the exact words, before Eddie pushed into him. All the old familiar aches, and the pain, and the endorphins, and the helplessness rushed back, and Eddie could have done ANYTHING to him now, because Adrian was beyond fighting, but he just set up a pace that was right on the edge of too much, and a familiar rough hand, smoothed by slick lube, but never entirely, stroked his cock until he came again.

Eddie came after.  Adrian was fairly certain he came in him again, later, but by that time Adrian was warm, held down in Eddie’s arms, weighted into the bed as a soft cage, and asleep.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Eddie shrugged and sank further into the Jacuzzi. “We had an intense, one-time hookup almost three years ago. We never planned on seeing each other again. Then I got assigned to guard him at one of his charity events‑the one with the terrorist attack? And we had to go off grid together for over a week.” He looked thoughtful. “Two years ago. Roughly.”
> 
> Adrian looked down, “We only saw each other in person once since then; other than that, it’s letters every now and then.”*
> 
> Refers to prior events in this series. Eddie is being very politic


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> truth will out

Dan found new clothes waiting for him when he woke up. They were fancier than he wore, but obviously some attempt at his usual style, and they fit.

He walked into the main room to find a breakfast buffet, and Eddie sprawled out on a sofa looking…. Dan sighed, _looking like someone after really good sex._  

_Adrian was… odd._

He was wearing a turtleneck‑Dan could still see some of the marks up near the top of it, and along his jaw on one side. Dan expected him to be looking at Eddie happily, or relaxed, or maybe angrily? But he almost looked fearful.

 _That was just wrong. Adrian shouldn’t look fearful.  Especially not here in his own home._   Dan had no doubt that his guards would shoot Eddie if Adrian asked them to.

And they’d almost gone through with a rape scene‑ a far too real one‑ and come out flirting about bruises and…

“OK, what’s going on?”

“The obvious,” Eddie laughed.

“I didn’t think you wanted to know,” Adrian said calmly, handing him a plate full of breakfast.

Dan shook his head slowly. “I’m not stupid- something changed.”

Adrian stopped and looked at him. “I never thought you were stupid, Dan.”

Eddie snorted, “Princess, you underestimate people.  You do it all the time.”

Adrian shot Eddie a look _‑ that wasn’t flirting, it was wariness_. “I said I would never underestimate you again, Eddie, that time,” he nodded slowly, “but I did.”

Eddie shrugged and ate his breakfast.

It was intensely awkward. They came up with a cover story: it was close to the facts, but they added more things that never happened- like hallucinogens in the gas, and so on- to cover up for any slips.

Dan Dreiberg was never there.  If anyone ever found out otherwise? Well, Adrian was trying to protect a potential employee.

“Is that all I was?” Dan asked him.

Adrian started to say something and Eddie cut him off. “Tell him the truth, Adrian, or I will.”

“You don’t even know‑“ Adrian  sounded like his old self for a moment.

“Fuck that, Adrian. I’ve been in your HEAD,” ‑Adrian flinched‑ “I know.”  Eddie shrugged and turned to Dan, “Ok, Princess there is too caught up in looking perfect and never letting anyone see any weakness‑unless he wants them to‑ to tell you, so I will.”

“Even though you didn’t even know we were seeing each other?” Dan asked dubiously.

“I can tell you what happened, because I know him.” Eddie shrugged. 

Adrian glared at Eddie with his lips in a thin line, “You only know what I said last night.”

“Which is enough.” Eddie shrugged. “He wanted you to come work for him because you’re brilliant.”

Dan startled and glanced at Adrian: Adrian just had a bored look, but he wasn’t arguing.

Eddie grinned, “And I’d bet disk three that he’s frustrated as hell with your lack of confidence and self-esteem problems, given that he doesn’t give a shit about your body.”

Adrian had gasped when he said “disk three” and started “Eddie‑“ in a warning tone.

“Am I WRONG?”

Adrian glared at him, as if Dan wasn’t in the room. “No.”

Dan felt like his head was spinning.  It was more flattering than he could have imagined, being said with some undercurrent he had no idea of.

“He tried all his usual tricks, and then went for sex,” Eddie grinned, “because he’s used to people falling all over themselves once they get a taste.”  Dan flushed‑he honestly felt faint. “Except I’m betting that you were too shy, so he had to take it slow.”

“Yes,” Dan whispered. _Oh God, it was all just manipulation, and he’d fallen for it._   He felt sick.

“Except that was where Princess made his mistake.”

“What?” Dan didn’t want to know.

“You’re smart- smart enough to be worth talking to- and a fuck lot more cultured than I am, and the damn fool let himself fall for a nice guy.”

“I hate you, Eddie,” Adrian hissed.

“I know, Princess, I hate you too,” Eddie said amusedly. “You’re uncut heroin, and I hate you and I want another taste.”

“You’re saying…” Dan was trying desperately to sort this all out, “that he started out just playing me, and…?”

“Fell for you. Common enough mistake, if you let yourself get too close, especially with someone you can talk to.”

Dan stared back and forth, “Like you two?”

Eddie shrugged, “I never wanted to TALK to him.” He looked at Dan thoughtfully, “But I meant what I said, Dan:  you’re way too good for him.  We’re an addiction, and eventually it’s going to kill us if we don’t quit‑“

“It’s going to kill you,” Adrian said flatly.

“Meh. So? Something will, sooner or later,” Eddie said shrugging. He looked back at Dan, “So he fell for you. Maybe you could even make something out of it, but I doubt it.”

Eddie picked himself up out of the chair. “Just remember something,” ‑Dan wasn’t sure what the expression in his eyes was‑ “You either have to be good enough to pull him up out of the pit, or bad enough to join him.” He looked at Adrian and laughed, “And it’s crowded down here with the two of us.”

“Never again, Eddie,” Adrian said, and Dan was certain he meant it.

“I told you last time,” Eddie said, walking out the door, never looking back, “You let me into your head: that was your mistake.”

When the door closed Adrian collapsed into a chair, shaking.

“Adrian? My God, what did he do to you? Are you hurt?”

“Hurt?” Adrian started laughing; it sounded a bit hysterical. “I wish he had- I’m used to that from him.”  He pulled himself together a bit after a while. Dan brought him tea.

“Smartest man in the world,” he muttered, “and the damn bastard...”

“I don’t think we should see each other anymore,” Dan said after a while.

“Because I tried to get you to work for me?”

“Because you lied to me‑because I believed it.”

“He’s right, you know:  I let myself get too fond of you.”

“And that’s the problem. You started this as a means to an end, and you’re ‘fond’ of me.  I was trying to figure out how to propose.”

“I know.”

“And that’s cruel,” Dan said watching him.

“I AM cruel ‑or rather, I do what’s needed.  It’s why I went to Eddie; I needed a release.”

“And he’d hurt you?”

“He did.” Adrian looked thoughtful, “Even the first time, though, he made it feel pretty good; I should have realized.”

“Are you in love with him?”

“No,” Adrian shook his head. “Or rather, I don’t LOVE him. I might be IN love with him.  I never want to see him again; he got too far into my head.”

Dan nodded. “I’ll send a contract for your legal team about some ideas I had that you might find interesting.” Adrian looked up, startled. “Just business.  I don’t know if I can ever see you again, Adrian.” Dan smiled ruefully, “You got too far into my heart.”

 

Dan went home, some brilliant improvements were sent down to the research and development people, and a rather large sum of money disappeared into Dan’s bank accounts.

And Adrian tried to figure out how he’d ended up being pulled between the dark and the light.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in case it wasnt clear.  
> Adrian expected Eddie to hurt him... or just fuck him. he didn't expect Eddie to make love to him, to use everything he kne about Adrian to make this heaven, without leaving any damage.  
> he got into his head and Adrian has just now realized exactly how MUCH Eddie understands him, and how emotionally entangled he is.
> 
> and that terrified him


End file.
